Obese women run a 40 percent greater risk of getting cancer. Worse, obesity also increases the risk of acquiring at least seven types of cancer, some of which are decidedly deadly, said Cancer Research UK.

Research shows that of 1,000 obese women, 274 will be diagnosed with cancer. This is a far higher number than the 194 out of 1,000 women of normal weight expected to be diagnosed with cancer.

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A study published in 2014 in the medical journal, The Lancet, looked at cancer rates known to be linked with obesity. It found that in just one year, 3.6 percent of new cancer cases were attributed to obesity. This rate was higher in women than in men.

Hormones are usually a culprit in this link between obesity and cancer but any number of factors can contribute to cancer risk.

"Using animal models, we believe it's mostly related to hormone changes (with obesity)," said George Wang, a professor of human nutrition at Kansas State University who has studied obesity and cancer risk but was not involved in the new research.

The research also shows obesity increases the risk of at least seven different kinds of cancer: womb (uterine) cancer; post-menopausal breast cancer; bowel (colon) cancer; gallbladder cancer; esophageal cancer; kidney cancer and pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Julie Sharp, head of health information at Cancer Research UK, said they know that women's cancer risk depends on a combination of genes, environment and other aspects of our lives, "many of which we can control -- helping people understand how they can reduce their risk of developing cancer in the first place remains crucial in tackling the disease".

She noted that lifestyle changes like not smoking, keeping a healthy weight, eating a healthy diet and cutting back on alcohol are the big opportunities for us all to personally reduce our cancer risk.

"Making these changes is not a guarantee against cancer, but it stacks the odds in our favor".

In the U.S., 35 percent of adults ages 20 and older are obese while 69 percent of people 20 and older are overweight or obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People who are obese also face higher annual medical costs, which is $1,429 more than people of normal weight.